Proposed Bond Could Fund $120 Million In San Diego Infrastructure Projects

Thursday, October 24, 2013

City News Service

SAN DIEGO - A proposed bond issue that the City Council will take up in January would fund $120 million worth of projects, including street repairs, storm drain improvements and replacement fire stations in San Diego, city officials announced today.

San Diego's 2,800 miles of paved streets and 200-plus miles of paved alleys earned an overall rating of 57.6 out of 100 in a 2011 survey of road conditions, which was below other major cities in California.

A street in good condition has a rating of at least 70. A figure between 40 and 69 means a street is in fair condition. Below 40 is poor.

Only 35 percent of the roads and alleys were in good condition and the portion of streets in poor condition was 25 percent, according to the study.

Among the big-ticket items contemplated in the bond are $22 million to improve storm drains, $11.2 million to replace a fire station in City Heights, $8.2 million to replace a fire station in Hillcrest, and $4 million toward re-doing the Mission Hills/Hillcrest Library, $3 million for the San Ysidro Library and $2.8 for the Skyline Library.

The library projects each cost a lot more than what's being allocated in the list of projects, but they are also receiving money from other sources, including previous bond issues.

Kersey, who chairs the City Council's Infrastructure Committee, is hosting public meetings in each district to receive public input on infrastructure priorities.

Also, his committee and the full City Council are scheduled to address infrastructure at meetings on Monday.

"The backbone of our community is infrastructure, and we have to invest in it if we're going to thrive,'' Kersey said. "This bond is a funding surge to address the accelerated deterioration of our streets and sidewalks, streetlights and storm drains, parks and libraries.''

Kersey told reporters recently that while the backlog of capital projects in the city is officially around $900 million, the reality is that no one really knows the true figure. He has pushed for new assessments of municipally-owned buildings and sidewalks to get a clearer picture of the city's needs.

Sdreefer, libraries continue to serve communities of all socio-economic backgrounds.

It's a myth perpetuated by simpletons that Google and "Wikipedia" have rendered libraries obsolete.

Not only are there many research materials NOT available on the internet (especially for free) but libraries serve as important community centers - one example is during hurricane Sandy where public libraries became the center of communication and information during a natural disaster.

I dont know how far removed you are from higher education. But, other than a quiet place to study there was not a single book I needed during my tenure at college from any library. Most professors I had are either writing their own books or electronic books are replacing them. There is nothing wrong with being a simpleton. My hands are tough from doing work. Are yours?

This proposal shows how broke the city really is. Long term bonds add to the city's debt, and are only supposed to be used to fund major capitol projects that generate revenue to pay back those bonds, not for things like everyday street maintenance. This is an example of politicians piling more debt onto the city's books with no clear plan to pay it off. Guess they figure they'll have moved on before most of the new debt comes due and it will be somebody else's problem. This is not responsible civic governance, its about avoiding new taxes at all costs, by pretending that the added debt piled on by the new bonds aren't really debt and won't really cost taxpayers anything. It's all baloney. If you don't like to see an extra $120 million added to the city's existing multi-billion debt, see which councilmembers vote for the new bonds and vote against then the next time they run for office.

there is also 700 million dollars in CIVIC SD previously CCDC that they quietly socked away which can and should be moved to the general fund to pay for infrastructure. The money is there and belongs to "us" but people like Todd Gloria are hording it for developers. People are letting this criminal cartel walk all over them. They need to demand what belongs to them.

We need to start filing lawsuits. The City continues to break the law. Yes they want to sell bonds to pay for basic things because they keep giving all our money away to developers.

the City also continues to break the law by doing business w/ shell corporations aka Delaware llcs. This is against our Constitution. we need to file a lawsuit to force them to enforce this. I guarantee people like Todd Gloria and Toni Atkins are all beneficial investors in projects like NTC which Atkins gave away to McMillin for $1 per year. These people are CRIMINALS. wake up SD. Stop letting these people break the law. They all belong in prison.